Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy

New Jersey Policy Perspectives: Undocumented Residents Pay $587 Million a Year in NJ Taxes

April 3, 2017

New Jersey’s undocumented immigrants contribute $587 million in state and local taxes, the sixth highest level of all the states. And those contributions would increase by $73 million – the eighth most of all states – under comprehensive immigration reform. These are the key Garden State findings in a new 50-state study released today by […]

Fiscal Policy Institute: Economic Contribution, Taxes Paid, and Occupations of Unauthorized Immigrants in New York State

April 3, 2017

There is a widespread misconception that unauthorized immigrants do not pay taxes. Yet, a careful national study prepared by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy—and coreleased in New York by the Fiscal Policy Institute with this report—finds that unauthorized immigrants currently pay $1.1 billion in state and local taxes in New York. Read more […]

The Progressive Pulse: New analysis: Most of NC senate’s “middle class” tax cut would actually flow to the wealthy

April 3, 2017

BTC’s analysis of SB 325 uses a more robust model developed by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP), a non-profit, non-partisan organization. ITEP’s microsimulation tax model calculates tax revenue yield and incidence, by income group, of federal, state and local taxes. The model is used in states across the country to analyze state […]

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Tax Justice Digest: Offshore Cash, Gas Tax and BAT

March 31, 2017 • By ITEP Staff

In the Tax Justice Digest we recap the latest reports, blog posts, and analyses from Citizens for Tax Justice and the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. Here’s a rundown of what we’ve been working on lately. Corporations Offshore Cash Hoard Grows to $2.6 Trillion U.S. corporations now hold a record $2.6 trillion offshore, a […]

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A Comparative Analysis: Tax Rates Paid by Companies for and Against the Border Adjustment Tax

March 30, 2017 • By Richard Phillips

It’s often noted that corporate tax reform is difficult, in part, because it creates so many winners and losers. As Congress turns its attention to federal corporate tax reform, the House GOP’s proposed border adjustment tax, which is intended to raise enough revenue to justify cutting the corporate tax rate from 35 to 20 percent, […]

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The $767 Billion Money Pot Driving Tax Reform

March 28, 2017 • By Richard Phillips

With the failure of legislation to repeal the Affordable Care Act, the Trump administration and Republicans lawmakers are moving on to corporate tax reform. At the heart of this debate is the problem of corporations shifting their profits to foreign tax havens to avoid U.S. income taxes. A new report by the Institute on Taxation […]

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Assessing the Distributional Consequences of Alaska’s House Bill 115 (Version L)

March 28, 2017 • By Carl Davis

This report contains ITEP's analysis of the distributional and revenue consequences of the revised version of House Bill 115 (Version L) as proposed on March 23, 2017. This proposal would reduce Alaska's Permanent Fund Dividend (PFD) payout and implement a personal income tax based on a modified version of Federal Adjusted Gross Income, with rates ranging from 0 to 7 percent. The analysis was produced using ITEP's Microsimulation Tax Model.

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Fortune 500 Companies Hold a Record $2.6 Trillion Offshore

March 28, 2017 • By Matthew Gardner

All told, Fortune 500 corporations are avoiding up to $767 billion in U.S. federal income taxes by holding more than $2.6 trillion of "permanently reinvested" profits offshore. In their latest annual financial reports, 29 of these corporations reveal that they have paid an income tax rate of 10 percent or less in countries where these profits are officially held, indicating that most of these profits are likely in offshore tax havens.

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Corporations’ Offshore Cash Hoard Grew to $2.6 Trillion in 2016

March 28, 2017 • By ITEP Staff

U.S. corporations now hold a record $2.6 trillion offshore, a sum that ballooned by more than $200 billion over the last year as companies moved more aggressively to shift their profits offshore, according to a new report, Fortune 500 Companies Hold a Record $2.6 Trillion Offshore, released today by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP).

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Tax Justice Digest: 50-State Analysis of GOP Health Care Plan, Ensuring State Sales Taxes Keep Pace with Our Changing Economy

March 23, 2017 • By ITEP Staff

In the Tax Justice Digest we recap the latest reports, blog posts, and analyses from Citizens for Tax Justice and the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. Here’s a rundown of what we’ve been working on lately. State-by-State Analysis of GOP Health Care Plan By now, it’s widely known that the GOP health care plan […]

Kentucky Center for Economic Policy: Tiny Fraction of Wealthiest Kentuckians Gain from Tax Cuts in Health Repeal

March 23, 2017

The House plan to repeal healthcare reform, known as the American Health Care Act (AHCA), provides a tax cut to the wealthiest people while reducing the number of Americans with health coverage by an estimated 24 million, according to the Congressional Budget Office. Because Kentucky has relatively few high earners, we benefit even less from the […]

Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center: The Fair Share Tax to Support Public Investment in Pennsylvania

March 23, 2017

This paper puts forward a plan, which we call the Fair Share Tax, that would take a major step toward fixing Pennsylvania’s broken tax system and raise the revenues we need to invest in the public goods that are critical to creating thriving communities and individual opportunity in our state: education, infrastructure, protection for our […]

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GOP Healthcare Bill Cuts Insurance Coverage for Millions to Pay for Tax Cuts for the Wealthy; ITEP State-By-State Estimates

March 22, 2017 • By Richard Phillips

The House GOP’s American Health Care Act is being pushed quickly through the legislative process, with a vote on the House floor scheduled for as early as Thursday. The Republican legislation seeks to pay for the cost of repealing highly progressive taxes enacted as part of the Affordable Care Act by making substantial cuts to […]

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Affordable Care Act Repeal Includes a $31 Billion Tax Cut for a Handful of the Wealthiest Taxpayers: 50-State Breakdown

March 17, 2017 • By Matthew Gardner

Congressional Republicans have proposed legislation that would repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA), including rolling back a number of tax changes that were enacted to pay for the ACA's health care expansions. Among these tax changes are two targeted income tax increases that took effect in 2013, each of which apply only to a small number of the wealthiest Americans: the net investment tax and additional Medicare tax. Repealing these two taxes would cost over $31 billion a year if implemented in tax year 2016, and 85 percent of the benefit from repealing these taxes would go to the best…

The Half Sheet: You Can’t Cut Your Way to Prosperity

March 17, 2017

Virginia’s tax system is upside down. Regular Virginians pay a higher share of their income in state and local taxes than the wealthy and powerful. An array of recently proposed schemes to give new handouts to the wealthy and powerful would make it even more unfair. Virginians can’t afford that.  As part of our work […]

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Taxes and the On-Demand Economy

March 15, 2017 • By Carl Davis

A growing number of Americans are getting rides or booking short-term accommodations through online platforms such as Uber and Airbnb. This is nothing new in concept; brokers have operated for hundreds of years as go-betweens for producers and consumers. The ease with which this can be done through the Internet, however, has led to millions of people using these services, and to some of the nation's fastest-growing, high-profile businesses. The rise of this on-demand sector, sometimes referred to as the "gig economy" or, by its promoters, the "sharing economy," has raised a host of questions. For state and local governments,…

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Debunking the 35 Percent Corporate Tax Myth

March 9, 2017 • By Richard Phillips

For years, the number one tax policy talking point from corporate lobbyists has been the claim that the United States has the highest corporate tax rate in the world. The story then goes that this high tax rate is driving away business and Congress should move to dramatically lower it. A new study by the […]

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Tax Justice Digest: New Eight-Year Data Reveals Corporations Aren’t Paying Their Fair Share

March 9, 2017 • By ITEP Staff

In the Tax Justice Digest we recap the latest reports, blog posts, and analyses from Citizens for Tax Justice and the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. Here’s a rundown of what we’ve been working on lately.  New Study Explores the 35 Percent Corporate Tax Myth A comprehensive, eight-year study of profitable Fortune 500 corporations […]

Georgia Budget and Policy Institute: Targeted Fix to Income Tax Package Can Deliver Georgians a Win

March 9, 2017

Georgia lawmakers are considering a large income tax proposal with three sound tax policy reforms alongside one serious shortcoming. On the plus side, the current bill proposes to boost families with a new Georgia Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), close an outdated loophole and index several broadly available exemptions to ensure they keep pace with […]

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The 35 Percent Corporate Tax Myth

March 9, 2017 • By Matthew Gardner, Richard Phillips

Profitable corporations are subject to a 35 percent federal income tax rate on their U.S. profits. But many corporations pay far less, or nothing at all, because of the many tax loopholes and special breaks they enjoy. This report documents just how successful many Fortune 500 corporations have been at using loopholes and special breaks over the past eight years. As lawmakers look to reform the corporate tax code, this report shows that the focus of any overhaul should be on closing loopholes rather than on cutting tax rates.

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GOP Obamacare Repeal Would Slash Taxes on the Wealthy At the Expense of Middle- and Low-Income Families

March 7, 2017 • By Richard Phillips

On Monday, House Republicans released legislation that would repeal or modify many of the most significant portions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). A central theme of the GOP plan is that it would significantly cut funding for low- and middle-income families’ health care, while eliminating the ACA’s expansion of Medicare taxes on the wealthiest […]

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ITEP and CTJ Boards Announce Alan Essig as New Executive Director

March 6, 2017 • By ITEP Staff

The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy Board of Directors and the Citizens for Tax Justice Board of Directors are pleased to announce that Alan Essig has been named the next executive director of both organizations. Robert McIntyre, director of CTJ, will retire effective March 31, and Matthew Gardner, former executive director of ITEP, has assumed the position of senior fellow. Mr. Essig will begin his new role on April 3, 2017.

Invest in Louisiana: Moving from Budget Cuts to State Investment

March 6, 2017

Louisiana’s tax system is broken. It doesn’t bring in enough revenue to pay for the things that allow communities to thrive- strong schools, good hospitals and public safety. It taxes people with low incomes at higher levels than the rich. It doesn’t keep up with economic growth. And it’s riddled with special-interest exemptions and tax […]

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Undocumented Immigrants Pay Taxes

March 2, 2017 • By Misha Hill

A newly updated ITEP report released today provides data that helps dispute the erroneous idea espoused during President Trump’s address to Congress that undocumented immigrants aren’t paying their fair share. In fact, like all others living and working in the United States, undocumented immigrants are taxpayers. They collectively contribute an estimated $11.74 billion to state […]

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Tax Justice Digest: Undocumented Immigrants Pay Taxes and Fact-Checking President Trump

March 2, 2017 • By ITEP Staff

In the Tax Justice Digest we recap the latest reports, blog posts, and analyses from Citizens for Tax Justice and the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. Here’s a rundown of what we’ve been working on lately.  Undocumented Immigrants’ Tax Contributions ITEP today released updated numbers on undocumented immigrants’ tax contributions. Collectively, they contribute $11.74 […]